Reminiscent Colors
by dreamoverdrive
Summary: They're both different but still the same under changed appearances and new colors. "Their eyes locked and held, each trying to discern the other's emotion, looking for familiar signals in new faces."


People were crowding and laughing around the brightly colored tents and stalls. Pokemon bounced, chirped, squeaked, and roared around him in a blur of sound and color. The air smelled and tasted like heady berry mixtures and spices, and the sunlight made him warm and lazy.

He took long, slow blinks and looked around the bustling street. He could remember a time when he would have been racing, running, and shouting along with all the other pokemon fans, but now…

Something had changed. He didn't feel the compulsion or desire to move and squirm anymore. Bright colors and strange sounds didn't demand his focus. He didn't feel tired or worn out. It was more as though he had come to an understanding. He'd been so many places, seen so many things, and experienced so many emotions, that he didn't feel the need to race around and try and gobble up all the world to offer. He still had the same wants and desires and he still had the burning drive to succeed in him, but now it was tempered by this new perception of what went on around him.

He made his way across the street to a bench in the shade, and found that he was content to sit on the warm metal and watch the performers and people pass by him. He left a hand on the warm, soft head of his yellow friend who lay in peace beside him.

It was all serene and quiet. Till he saw her.

She was wearing worn, blue denim shorts that had some scuffs and tears and frayed ends. Her hands rested casually in her front pockets, leisurely tapping a beat out with her thumbs on her hips. She wore a dark blue t-shirt with a bold, black print on it.

CERULEAN CITY GYM

She had ragged, green sneakers, with an untied lace that flicked up in the air when she walked with a casual stride. Her hair was down around her shoulders, carelessly wavy and unattended with a few stray strands she had to keep huffing out of her face. A washed out, knotted thread bracelet that had used to be red was sliding up and down her wrist.

He watched her with wide eyes, almost not believing what he was seeing. She was walking by herself, amid the swirling crowd of people, but her slow, steady walk seemed to single her out. She was watching the crowd around her with a peaceful look.

He noticed that her hair was blonder now. Little streaks of gold caught the sunlight when she walked. Her arms and legs had become more toned, and she moved like she was in the water. She must be swimming a lot. For some reason that made him happy.

Suddenly she turned and looked over at his bench, her eyes widening when she caught his gaze. Their eyes locked and held, each trying to discern the other's emotion, looking for familiar signals in new faces. Her mouth was open, and his lips had curled into a crooked smile.

She began to take small steps with her green sneakers and his smile widened. She entered the shade around the bench, and the darkness cast shadows across her tan face. She had always used to have tan skin when they had traveled but the last time he'd seen her on a TV at a Pokémon Center it had been ivory pale.

Her eyes relaxed as she drew closer, finally sitting beside him on the bench. Her presence filled up the small space, and she smelled like peaches, chlorine, and soap. Her arm brushed his, and there was a comfortable silence. He glanced at her hands and grinned a bit when he noticed that her nails were painted a chipped thunder bolt yellow.

"You never used to appreciate the sunshine." Her voice was calmer, softer, but somehow steadier. More confident.

"You didn't either." He looked over at her as her lips curled to a small smile as they both remembered the fiery redhead ten year old with a temper.

"No, I guess I didn't."

There was another silence before he spoke. "Do you still talk in your sleep?"

She turned and looked at him in surprise. "Why do you ask?"

He chuckled and her heart thudded at the sound. "I was just wondering if you annoy the heck out of you sisters like you did me and Brock."

Her eyes narrowed, and she whacked him on his arm with a huff before leaning back into the bench. "At least I don't snore like you, Ketchum. The first time I've seen you in years and the only thing you can think to ask me is if my sleeping habits have changed."

He grinned a bit, remembering just how _good _it felt to tease her, allowing himself to relax into the bench. "How's the gym?"

Her eyes sparked, and oh how he had missed that spark. The spark lit up her face and made her grin like a lunatic and wax eloquent about the beauty of the most unappealing water Pokémon.

"We're the best in the Indigo League now. Hardly anyone even gets a badge anymore."

Unconsciously, his hand drifted to the blue badge on the knotted string around his neck. He'd always told himself that he'd tied it there because 2 was his lucky number. "That's incredible, Mist!"

She grinned a bit at the old nickname and replied. "You know, I got offered a position as an elite."

His brown eyes widened and his eyebrows rose despite the growing pit of nostalgia in his stomach. "Wow! Congratulations!" He remembered the plucky little starmie and staryu, and the exasperating psyduck that always seemed to appear at the worst moment. She'd come far. Far enough to make him miss the messy, embarrassing battles they'd shared- made of red faces and stupid insults.

"I didn't accept."

His jaw dropped and he stared at her with disbelief. "Why on earth not?"

She looked at him with those green eyes of hers and she smiled at his comical expression. "I wasn't ready yet. I decided to travel again before I accepted. I'm trying to learn a little bit more before I take the position."

Her words hung in the air and he mulled them over. Learn? About herself? About the world? About her pokemon? He glanced at her serene face, and felt a small smile come to his own. "Hey, you want to go watch the pokemon show? We can get something to eat afterwards."

She looked at him, with a familiar smile, and nodded. "I think I'd like that. You're paying, Ketchum." He groaned and made a quip at her appetite and she shot him a look.

They stood up from the shade, and walked into the crowd, each wondering what new memories they'd make with the new but different person beside them.


End file.
